MovieChat Forums > The Shadow (1994) Discussion > Batman Begins before Batman Begins

Batman Begins before Batman Begins


A young, troubled millionaire vanishes into the East, learns the ways of the criminal mind. Bruce and Lamont.

A villain with a legacy of conquering and destruction. Ras Al Ghul and Shi Wan Khan.

An elderly scientist who has a connection to the weapon of mass destruction. Lucius Fox and Reinhardt Lane (even Dr. Roy Tam qualifies) with the Microwave Emitter and the Atom Bomb.

A trustee chauffeur. Moe and Alfred.

An evil doctor who willingly sides with the main villain. Farley Claymore and Jonathan Crane.

A police commissioner who wants to locate the vigilante. Loeb and Barth.

Margo Lane and Rachel Dawes have little to no connection other than being the love interest though.

And lest we forget the heroes' respective caves and ability to turn men's fear against them.

The Shadow is such an underrated gem, it really needs to be rexplored!

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The Shadow 1994 movie sucks ass. But I do love this character, The Shadow is very cool and I want to see a faithful grim and gritty big budget movie, which the 1994 just couldn't live up to. Here's another shocker. If anything, I don't blame people for noticing similarities between Batman and the Shadow. However, the Shadow predates Batman and was one of the main inspirations for Batman's creators when they thought of him. This was not really Batman Begins before Batman Begins, this was the pulp roots of Batman. He's Batman's grandpa and should not be seen as a copy of Batman or anything like that. The Shadow came first, hence why such similarities between this movie and Begins are apparent.

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Nice comparisons. I guess Batman Begins was the good version. lol.

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That makes Batman Begins the rare remake that's much better than the original.

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I disagree, I thought it was great, and entirely different in style, though the story is quite similar, which as others pointed out, is not an coincidence. The very first issue of Batman ever written was a direct adaptation of one of the Shadow stories.

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Btaman begins for me sucked ass. The Shadow had that slick 1930's atmosphere and was just way more fun to watch. the humor was certainly there and the love interest was way hotter in shadow. batman begins might have done better, but...thats because its batman. even the worst batman movie still makes money. the shadow is an interesting character but not many people know him. I know him mainly from the movie, and I loved the style. definitely one of my faves.

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I really love the 39s aesthetic for this film. From the fashion to the decor to the architecture and the cars, even the mythical mystical east I love it all!

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Batman was basically based off of the Shadow and the Phantom.

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When I (finally) saw this film a few years ago I remember thinking how similar to Begins it was

Its just feels like the kind of left field/bizarre thing Nolan would do essentially to remake this forgotten film but with Batman

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